U3's CEO blog

One of the most common things people ask me is whether I see smart drives carrying full operating systems in the future. Here are my thoughts.

U3 smart drives rely on the host computer’s operating system to perform all the functions required to run the applications that are stored on and launched from the drive. As such, the smart drives do not require a full operating system to be loaded.  What might the advantages be of carrying a full OS on a drive instead?

First, if the drives carried an operating system, computers could be much less “intelligent” – and thus extremely inexpensive – effectively empty shells that would contain only the processor, keyboard, monitor, and basic I/O connections. Second, such a computer could potentially run any type of operating system, making it possible for consumers to choose their OS of choice when using a public computer.  Sounds great, huh?

The disadvantages, however, might impact the very value proposition smart drives provide – low cost, plug and play devices to store a lot of data.  A typical operating system like Windows, Linux and Mac OS, are in the 4GB range, and while drive capacity grows every year, only the largest flash drives on the market today - 8GB drives – could store an operating system. If carried on a flash drive, the OS would take up a large chunk of space that could otherwise be used for files, music, photos and video.

More problematic, if the operating system were to be loaded from the drive, the experience would be more plug and boot than plug and play, creating what is likely to be a slower than acceptable user experience.

Finally, much of the hardware attached to a CPU, the monitor, networks, printers and input devices, are configured and integrated with the operating system at the time of installation. If these devices were configured when the OS was plugged in, it might further slow the load process, if it worked at all.

For my vote, plug and play is king. For now, it’s optimal to use the smart drive for applications and data, and keep the OS on the host computer.

IFA starts this Friday (Sept 1). Remember to visit the U3 booth (Hall 1.2, Stand 104c) for a chance to win a U3 smart drive. Pick a ticket and if your secret code unlocks the smart drive you walk away with a drive!

And for those of you who can’t make it to Berlin, our intrepid colleagues Nathan and Claudio are blogging and podcasting from the show on the U3 smart blog.

Going into Blockbuster last week, I started thinking more about video. So has Mark Cuban. I’d love to browse online and load up my favorite movie or two. But Mark hits the nail on the head about the “1 THING” about downloadable movies that those of us who like the idea are missing: you can only download to one PC at a time and one thing at a time. Then there’s the whole issue of how you view it on your TV… I may be the Queen of IT, but the electronics in my home are far from a harmonious network.

But hey - I have four PCs in my house, and so do many others. I use one every day – so there are always one or two “idle” PCs at any time. What if I could use those to download movies while mine is in use? But I don’t want to view the movie on that PC, so it would be great to download it to a U3 smart drive, and take it with me on business or even plug it into my TV for viewing.

I love this idea – before I head to the airport, I load up my smart drive with 2-3 movies, and don’t tie up my laptop on which I’m madly finishing work. When I finally get settled in my seat for that 5 hour flight to Boston or New York, I plug it in and decide which movie to watch.

Even better - what if I can plug my drive into a kiosk at the airport and avoid the download over the air all together? How long could that take – a few minutes tops? That way I’m copying the movie directly to my smart drive without even booting my computer or bogging down my internet connection.

Now, I’m thinking ahead here … we’re a few years away from having an affordable ($50-$100) 20 Gigabyte flash-based smart drive to carry 3 or 4 movies. Meanwhile, our product teams have to get started on the next great thing. Is it video-on-demand to go? Could smart drives become great video-on-demand devices?

What’s your take on downloading movies? Am I nuts here?

U3 will be exhibiting at the upcoming IFA trade fair in Berlin (Sept. 1-6).

Win a U3 smart drive! Visit our booth, pick a coupon and see if your secret code unlocks the smart drive. If yours is the lucky number, you walk away with the drive!

Come and visit at Hall 1.2 Stand 104c. We look forward to seeing you there.

IFA is the world’s largest Consumer Electronics trade fair, with over 1,000 exhibitors from 40 countries and around quarter of a million visitors.